Vancouver-based waterproof footwear brand Vessi has opened its first permanent storefront in Burnaby’s Metropolis at Metrotown. Retail Insider first reported on the anticipated opening several days ago.
The 1,000 square foot retail location is designed to showcase the city of Vancouver, including a feature wall which reflects Vancouver’s mix of nature and urbanism.
“We’re incredibly proud to open Vessi’s very first retail store in our hometown when we started off with a humble Kickstarter campaign four years ago” says Mikaella Go, Co-Founder of Vessi.
“We attribute a lot of our success to the strength of our community. Listening to our fans has been a big commitment of ours and we heard that they want an in-person shopping experience in Vancouver. It was a no-brainer for us to open up our first store in the city we love and live and work in. We’re excited to meet our existing customers in-person and to introduce more customers into the Vessi community.”
Vessi Metropolis at Metrotown (Image: Vessi) 
Vessi Metropolis at Metrotown (Image: Vessi)
Vessi will offer the full range of footwear and accessories, in addition to featuring a limited edition store-only line of two pins, a tote and three postcards, designed by local Vancouver artist Cynthia Vo.
The retail storefront is one of the next steps for the company, which is seeing expansion on multiple fronts. Vessi will be testing additional markets with pop-up stores in other Canadian cities, and will be continuing to build its presence in U.S. markets through pop-up trunk shows at select Nordstrom locations.
David Garbuz of brokerage Oberfeld Snowcap is representing Vessi in its Canadian store expansion.
